Menzenski
Formerly Mambeu
It seems like there have been a lot of questions about bedliner in the interior lately, so I wrote this long post to hopefully answer some of them. If you want to ask another question, or see more pics, post in this thread or PM me.
I decided a few weeks ago that my 90 XJ was going to need some TLC to fix its current rust, and prevent future rust since it's now living in a heavily salted region. So I ordered some rust-fighting products: two of the Eastwood "Full Frame and Suspension Restoration Kits" (PN 12787ZP or 12788ZP), since I didn't think that one would cover everything, a quart of brushable seam sealer (Eastwood PN 31028ZP), and one Herculiner do-it-yourself kit.
I removed my two remaining seats and seat belts, center console, parking brake cover, and a plastic shroud-type-thing under the center of the dash. I also removed all the plastic trim pieces that were still in my Jeep (only six). And then I removed my factory vinyl flooring. The floor underneath looked remarkably solid for having spent 16 years in the salt belt.
The next day, I went over the whole floor with a wire-cup wheel on an angle grinder, which revealed that my floor was not quite as solid as I had thought. The floorboard just in front of the driver seat was in the worst shape. I cut out the rusty portions. Other rusty places were the back, driver side edge of the floor, as well as holes just outside of the inside rear of the four seat mounting bolts (on both sides of the Jeep).
The Eastwood kit that I used consists of three parts: first, a 'rust converter' that turns rust into some sort of black oxide. I don't know exactly what it does or how it works, but it worked nicely on the surface rust on the rear deck and in the driver and passenger footwells. The next step was a coat of Eastwood Rust Encapsulator, which is similar to POR-15 but is usually considered better because it requires less prep work and yields better results (there's a comparison linked to from the Eastwood site, if anyone's interested). Each coat of the floor took just about a complete spray can; I did three coats.
To patch the holes in the floor, I used some steel panels that I found in my basement (I'm a cheap bastard), cut to size, painted with the rust encapsulator, and attached to the floor with self-drilling sheet metal screws every inch or so. Then I got out the seam sealer and covered all the patch panels. All the panels that I could reach from under the Jeep got their undersides coated too. I even went over most of the factory-sealed seams just for kicks.
And then I laid down two coats of Eastwood gloss Chassis Black paint, the third step in the Eastwood kit. A note here about that kit: Eastwood says that the kit will cover 50 square feet, and I didn't think that would be enough so I ordered two kits. Turns out that one kit should be enough. Oh well; at least I have a use for all the extra (restoring a very old ATV).
So now was time for the Herculiner. I had masked the shifters, parking brake, and seat mounting bolts before using the Eastwood kit. Before applying the Herculiner, I reinstalled the seat belt mounting bolts (all 10 that mount to the floor), and masked them off. I didn't bother masking a line around the inside of the Jeep because 1) the trim will cover the edge and 2) I don't really care if it's a little ugly. I did take care to mask the outside of the Jeep, though. I masked off the rockers and fenderwells with 1" masking tape, and then used 2" tape to widen the line. I put garbage bags over the tires (this turned out to be largely unnecessary).
I followed the Herculiner instructions to the letter, first scuffing every surface, leaving no glossy spots. I then vacuumed out the interior and wiped all surfaces to be Herculined with acetone on a clean rag. I waited for it to dry, and then as per the instructions began to apply the Herculiner with a brush. In retrospect, it would have been better to apply the stuff with a roller first, and then go back and use the brush where the roller couldn't get to. The roller is much faster than the brush, obviously, and using it first would have saved me a bunch of time on the first coat.
I finished the first coat and went inside to eat lunch, since the Herculiner has to set up until it's no longer tacky (which took only one hour today, thanks to the perfect weather conditions) before the second coat is applied. I applied the second coat, waited fifteen minutes or so, and then removed the masking tape. This was when I made a BIG MISTAKE. Apparently, I had lost track of the number of rubber gloves that I had, and thus threw away my last pair after finishing the second coat. Try as I might, I still got a bunch on my hands while removing the masking. The stuff does not come off. At all. I'm contemplating dunking my hands in the acetone, but I'm not sure that's a good idea. The Jeep looks darn good though.
Now that you've waded through all that, a few pictures (sorry, no during pictures).
This one is a few months old, but it shows the rust on the driver door that was one of the main reasons I did the Herculiner:
This is the driver side after. Not perfect yet, but much, much better:
Passenger side (I know there are big holes in both rockers; I didn't bother patching them because I'll be getting rocker-replacement sliders later this year):
And finally some interior pics, before everything is re-installed.
I decided a few weeks ago that my 90 XJ was going to need some TLC to fix its current rust, and prevent future rust since it's now living in a heavily salted region. So I ordered some rust-fighting products: two of the Eastwood "Full Frame and Suspension Restoration Kits" (PN 12787ZP or 12788ZP), since I didn't think that one would cover everything, a quart of brushable seam sealer (Eastwood PN 31028ZP), and one Herculiner do-it-yourself kit.
I removed my two remaining seats and seat belts, center console, parking brake cover, and a plastic shroud-type-thing under the center of the dash. I also removed all the plastic trim pieces that were still in my Jeep (only six). And then I removed my factory vinyl flooring. The floor underneath looked remarkably solid for having spent 16 years in the salt belt.
The next day, I went over the whole floor with a wire-cup wheel on an angle grinder, which revealed that my floor was not quite as solid as I had thought. The floorboard just in front of the driver seat was in the worst shape. I cut out the rusty portions. Other rusty places were the back, driver side edge of the floor, as well as holes just outside of the inside rear of the four seat mounting bolts (on both sides of the Jeep).
The Eastwood kit that I used consists of three parts: first, a 'rust converter' that turns rust into some sort of black oxide. I don't know exactly what it does or how it works, but it worked nicely on the surface rust on the rear deck and in the driver and passenger footwells. The next step was a coat of Eastwood Rust Encapsulator, which is similar to POR-15 but is usually considered better because it requires less prep work and yields better results (there's a comparison linked to from the Eastwood site, if anyone's interested). Each coat of the floor took just about a complete spray can; I did three coats.
To patch the holes in the floor, I used some steel panels that I found in my basement (I'm a cheap bastard), cut to size, painted with the rust encapsulator, and attached to the floor with self-drilling sheet metal screws every inch or so. Then I got out the seam sealer and covered all the patch panels. All the panels that I could reach from under the Jeep got their undersides coated too. I even went over most of the factory-sealed seams just for kicks.
And then I laid down two coats of Eastwood gloss Chassis Black paint, the third step in the Eastwood kit. A note here about that kit: Eastwood says that the kit will cover 50 square feet, and I didn't think that would be enough so I ordered two kits. Turns out that one kit should be enough. Oh well; at least I have a use for all the extra (restoring a very old ATV).
So now was time for the Herculiner. I had masked the shifters, parking brake, and seat mounting bolts before using the Eastwood kit. Before applying the Herculiner, I reinstalled the seat belt mounting bolts (all 10 that mount to the floor), and masked them off. I didn't bother masking a line around the inside of the Jeep because 1) the trim will cover the edge and 2) I don't really care if it's a little ugly. I did take care to mask the outside of the Jeep, though. I masked off the rockers and fenderwells with 1" masking tape, and then used 2" tape to widen the line. I put garbage bags over the tires (this turned out to be largely unnecessary).
I followed the Herculiner instructions to the letter, first scuffing every surface, leaving no glossy spots. I then vacuumed out the interior and wiped all surfaces to be Herculined with acetone on a clean rag. I waited for it to dry, and then as per the instructions began to apply the Herculiner with a brush. In retrospect, it would have been better to apply the stuff with a roller first, and then go back and use the brush where the roller couldn't get to. The roller is much faster than the brush, obviously, and using it first would have saved me a bunch of time on the first coat.
I finished the first coat and went inside to eat lunch, since the Herculiner has to set up until it's no longer tacky (which took only one hour today, thanks to the perfect weather conditions) before the second coat is applied. I applied the second coat, waited fifteen minutes or so, and then removed the masking tape. This was when I made a BIG MISTAKE. Apparently, I had lost track of the number of rubber gloves that I had, and thus threw away my last pair after finishing the second coat. Try as I might, I still got a bunch on my hands while removing the masking. The stuff does not come off. At all. I'm contemplating dunking my hands in the acetone, but I'm not sure that's a good idea. The Jeep looks darn good though.
Now that you've waded through all that, a few pictures (sorry, no during pictures).
This one is a few months old, but it shows the rust on the driver door that was one of the main reasons I did the Herculiner:
This is the driver side after. Not perfect yet, but much, much better:
Passenger side (I know there are big holes in both rockers; I didn't bother patching them because I'll be getting rocker-replacement sliders later this year):
And finally some interior pics, before everything is re-installed.
